Chapter I.

THE CAMPFIRE IN THE GULCH—an ALARM—THE SOLITARY FIGURE—UNDER COVER—A WHITE MAN—"HAIL, FRIEND!"—A CORDIAL MEETING—A SECOND STRANGE CHARACTER.

"We ll, Desmond, we've taken a desperate chance, and so far appear to be losers."

The circumstances under which the words above quoted were spoken were weird and strange. A man and a mere youth were sitting by a campfire that was blazing and crackling in a narrow gulch far away in the Rocky Mountains, days and days travel from civilization.

The circumstances that had brought them there were also very strange and unusual. Desmond Dare was the son of a widow who owned a small farm in New York State. The re had been a mortgage on this farm which was about to be foreclosed when Desmond, a brave, vigorous lad, sold his only possession, a valuable colt, and determined to enter a walking match for the prize. He was on his way to the city where the match was to take place when in a belt of woods he heard a cry for help. He ran in the direction whence the cry came and found three tramps assailing a fourth man. The vigorous youth sprang to the rescue and drove the three tramps off, and was later persuaded by the man he had rescued to go with him to a rock cavern. The re the lad beheld a very beautiful girl of about fourteen whose history was enveloped in a dark mystery; he also learned that the man he had rescued was known as the wizard tramp. The latter was a very strange and peculiar character, a victim of the rum habit, which had brought him away down until he became a tramp of the most pronounced type. This man, however, was really a very shrewd fellow, well educated, not only in book learning, but in the ways of the world, and seeing that Desmond had resolved to take a desperate chance, the tramp volunteered to land him a winner; he succeeded in so doing. The champion of the walking match carried his money to his mother, the tramp went upon an extended spree and spent his share. Afterward the tramp and Desmond Dare started on the road together. The girl had been placed with Mrs. Dare on the farm, and the man and boy proceeded We st afoot, determined to locate a gold mine. The former discovered each day some new quality, and held forth to Desmond that some day he would make a very startling revelation. The youth had no idea as to the character of the revelation, but knowing that the tramp, named Brooks, was a very remarkable man, he anticipated a very startling denouement. After many very strange and exciting adventures Brooks, the tramp, and Desmond Dare arrived in the Rockies, and in due time started in to find their gold mine. The previous history of these two remarkable characters can be read in Nos. 90 and 91 of"OLD SLEUTH'S OWN."

At the time we introduce the tramp and Desmond Dare to our readers in this narrative, they had been knocking around the mountains in search of their mine and had met with failures on every side, and at length one night they camped in the gulch as described in our opening paragraphs, and Brooks spoke the words with which we open our narrative.

They were sitting beside their fire; both were partly attired as hunters and mountaineers, and both were well armed. Brooks, who had practically been a bloat had lived a temperate life, had enjoyed plenty of exercise in the open air, and had experienced to a certain extent a return of his original physical strength and vigor. At the time the whilom tramp made the disconsolate remark quoted, Desmond asked:

"What do you propose to do—give it up?"

"I don't know just what to do, lad."

"We've scraped together a little gold dust; possibly we may have money enough to engage in some legitimate business, and what we can't get by the discovery of a mine, we may acquire in time in speculation. You are shrewd and level-headed."

"That would be a good scheme for you, lad, but not for me. I am too far advanced in life to earn money by slow labor now. What I propose is that you go back, take all the gold we have, and enter into trade; you are bright and energetic and may succeed."

"And what will you do?"

"I shall continue my search for a mine, and some day I may strike it."

Brooks was a college graduate, a civil engineer, and a mineralogist, and believed he had great advantages in searching for a mine, but, as has been indicated, thus far their tramp and search had been a dead failure.

"I'll stick with you,"said Desmond.

"No, lad, you must go back."

"I swear I will not; I like this life, and remember, we have gathered some wash dust and we may gather more. I don't know the value of what we have gathered from the bottom of that stream we struck, but I do know that it would take a long time to accumulate as much money in trade. Remember, we have been in the mountains only six weeks."

"That is all right, but we might stay here six years and not make a find."

At that instant there came a sound which caused Brooks and Desmond to bend their ears and listen. Some of the Indians were on the warpath; a band of bucks had been making a raid and had been pursued by the United States cavalry into the mountains. Indians, as a rule, do not take to the mountains, but sometimes when pursued hotly they will separate into small bands and scatter through the hills; these fellows are dangerous. They would have murdered any white men they might meet for their arms alone, without considering the spirit of wantonness or revenge that might animate them.

Brooks and Desmond rose from their seats beside the fire and moved slowly away. At any moment an Arrow or even a rifle shot might come and end the life of one or both.

Desmond had become a very expert woodsman; he and Brooks had been chased by Indians several times and had exchanged shots with one band. They knew a cover in a crevice in the wall of rock which ran up abruptly each side of the gulch; from this spot they could survey and also make a good fight in an emergency. They had good weapons, plenty of ammunition, and what was more, coolness, skill, and courage. Desmond, especially, was a very cool-headed chap in times of danger; the use of firearms was not new to him, nor was the woodsman life altogether a novelty, for he had been raised in a very wild and desolate mountain region.

Quickly they stole to cover, although they believed it possible that they might have been seen, for they had absolute proof, well known to woodsmen, that if there were foes in the vicinity they had been discovered. Once in their covert they lay low, and a few moments passed, when they beheld a solitary figure advancing slowly and very cautiously up the gulch, and as the figure came in the light of the fire Desmond, whose eyesight was very keen, said:

"It's a white man; he looks like a hunter; we will wait a moment or two, but I guess it is all right."

The figure, meantime, with rifle poised, advanced very slowly and finally stood fully revealed close to the fire, and indeed he was a white man of strong and vigorous frame.

"I'll go and meet him,"said Desmond;"you lay low here, rifle in hand ready to shoot in case he proves an enemy."

"All right, lad, go ahead."

Desmond stepped from his hiding-place and advanced toward the fire. The stranger saw him, still held his position ready for offense or defense, and permitted Desmond to approach, and soon he discerned that the lad was a white man and he called:

"Hail, friend!"

"Hail, to you,"replied the lad.

The two men approached and shook hands. The hunter was a splendid specimen of physical manhood, and his face indicated honesty and good-nature.

"Are you alone here, lad?"

"No."

"Where's your comrade?"

Desmond made a sign, and Brooks stepped forth from the crevice and approached the fire.

"Hail, friend,"said the stranger hunter.

Brooks answered the salutation, the two men shook hands and the stranger said;

"What may be your business out here?"

"We'll talk of that later on; but, stranger, you took great chances."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"In approaching the fire you were exposed; suppose the fire had been kindled by Indians?"

The woodsman laughed, and said:

"I knew it was not an Indian's fire."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"How is that?"

"They don't create such a big blaze. I knew white men were around, and men whom I need not fear, but I was on my guard all the same."

"We could have dropped you off."

"We ll, yes, but out here we have to take chances, and it was necessary for me to do so."

"It was?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

"I need food; I have not struck any game lately. The fact is, I've been up in the peaks where there is no game. I hope you have a cold snack here, my friends, and some tobacco, for I have not had a regular tobacco smoke or chew for over a month."

"We were just about to prepare some coffee and make a meal."

"Good enough; did you say coffee? We ll, I have struck Elysium; I haven't tasted a cup of coffee in a year. You see I was snowbound away up in the mountains; fortunately I had plenty of dried meat, and I was compelled to wait until I was thawed out."

Brooks commenced making the coffee, and while doing so the woodsman asked:

"Are you regular hunters?"

"No."

"Ever in the mountains before?"

"Never."

"You've been taking great chances."

"We have?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

"The mountains are full of bad Indian fugitives, and they are very ugly. Some are parts of a raiding gang of bucks, and others are rascals who have made a kick out at the reservation. I've met twenty of them in the last ten days; they are in squads of twos and threes, and they are full of fight."

"We have met some of them."

"And you managed to escape?"

"We had a fight with one party."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"How did you come out?"

"Ahead, I reckon, or we would not be here."

The conversation was between the woodsman and Desmond.

"What brought you into the mountains—are you tourists?"

"No."

"On business?"

"Yes."

"Surveyors?"

"No."

"I thought not; no use to survey out this way. I suppose you are looking for a lost mine."

"We ll, we might take in a lost mine or find a new one, it don't matter."

"Ah! I see; well, so far you've been lucky, but you've been taking desperate chances."

"Oh! that's a way we have."